Water Requirement

AESCHYNANTHUSmarmoratus

Family

Gesnariaceae

Botanical Name

AESCHYNANTHUSmarmoratus

Plant Common Name

Zebra Basket Vine

Special Notice

This entry has yet to be reviewed and approved by L2G editors.

General Description

Imagine walking through the humid rainforests of Southeast Asia and encountering a plant with mottled, snake-like leaves dangling above your head in a tree. You eyes may fool you to think the sprawling, dangling stems are indeed a preying critter ready to attack. The zebra basket vine poses no such threat, but will intrigue you with its foliage and tubular flowers. This mounding to semi-trailing tender perennial subshrub is native to Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. It is epiphytic - growing on another plant such as a tree - but also grows in coarse soil rich in organic matter.

The leathery, pointed oval leaves occur in opposite pairs on the stems. The upper leaf surfaces are light green and speckled with blotches of medium green. Leaf undersides are beige-tan with rusty burgundy spots. Anytime from summer to winter, branch tips bear a cluster of tubular flowers that are pollinated by hummingbirds. Each blossom is greenish yellow that has edges of faint maroon-brown.

An excellent houseplant for a hanging basket, grow zebra basket vine in bright indirect light. With high ambient humidity, it tolerates some direct sun rays. In containers, use a porous, peat and perlite potting mix; outdoors grow it in a moist but well-drained sandy soil enriched with organic matter. It may also be mounted onto a tree in a similar manner as bromeliads and orchids. Zebra basket vine responds well to an evenly moist soil during the heat of summer, but a slightly drier condition in winter.